Paralysis is it
is simply the inability to voluntarily move specific muscles. Most
paralyzed people are in a lot of pain. It depends on the cause of
the paralysis. I know SCIs (Spinal Cord Injuries) who have back pain at
the level of their injury. I also have a lot of pain in every joint
on my paralyzed side.
A muscle needs
to be used or it atrophies. Since muscle keeps bones connected and
in place any joint affected by loss of muscle is using connective tissues
in their place. Because of this joints can sublux or partially dislocate.
This is especially common in the shoulder. Then there is the pain
from having to sit all day in a wheelchair. The human body is designed
to be moving , but paralysis prevents movement.
In order to prevent
pressure sores, I get out of my wheelchair every two hours and lie
on my bed for at least 10 minutes. While on the bed I do range of
motion exercises to my paralyzed limbs to keep those joints from freezing
or locking up. Doing these exercises allows me to walk with a cane
despite the paralysis. "Use it or lose it."
According to
Thrive @online, paralysis can include: "loss of sensation in affected
arms or legs, loss of urinary or bowel control;loss of normal blood pressure,
loss of body temperature control and constipation." Also from Thrive
Online:"Normally the brain originates the impulses for muscle movement.
these impulses travel via the spinal cord and peripheral nerves to the
muscles. Paralysis occurs when there is an injury or disruption in this
nerve pathway." I have tried to find an authority on paralysis
so I can give the most accurate definition. Most of the information
I found was from different updates at THRIVE ONLINE'S web site.
My paralysis is due
to the removal of the right Motor Strip of my brain, not from a break in
the Spinal Cord. I also have no brain cortex on the right side.
This is the main reason my sensation is so poor. In fact, I have
virtually no Proprioception on that side. I can't tell where
my left arm and leg are unless I'm looking at them. Visual cues are all
I can go by to keep my balance. Yet, the pain is there all the time.
It's a raw,tendon-stretching type of pain you can't ignore.
Our erroneous,preconcieved notions of paralysis are the biggest
part of the actual handicap. I found it critical and necessary to
rethink everything I thought I knew,valuing my thoughts and feelings
as correct regardless of popular opinion. The first time I stood
up on my own I was horrified and thought I'd done something wrong!
Living with paralysis is a daily, mental battle for me. I'm not sure
who I'm fighting. Is it past memories,my "Flesh", Satan, or the realization
that paralysis isn't as bad as I once thought? I admit it's inconvenient,but
so was the alternative. Sure, everything is harder,but I thrive on
challenge. I see my paralysis as the ultimate challenge.
Like everything in life,paralysis is what you make of it in your thoughts.
Physically,it's just a loss of muscle and function and that can be regained
to a certain extent!